Thermo-mechanical Behavior of Pressure Tube of Indian PHWR at 20 bar Pressure
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 32769
Thermo-mechanical Behavior of Pressure Tube of Indian PHWR at 20 bar Pressure

Authors: Gopal Nandan, P. K. Sahooa, Ravi Kumara, B Chatterjeeb, D. Mukhopadhyayb, H. G. Leleb

Abstract:

In a nuclear reactor Loss of Coolant accident (LOCA) considers wide range of postulated damage or rupture of pipe in the heat transport piping system. In the case of LOCA with/without failure of emergency core cooling system in a Pressurised Heavy water Reactor, the Pressure Tube (PT) temperature could rise significantly due to fuel heat up and gross mismatch of the heat generation and heat removal in the affected channel. The extent and nature of deformation is important from reactor safety point of view. Experimental set-ups have been designed and fabricated to simulate ballooning (radial deformation) of PT for 220 MWe IPHWRs. Experiments have been conducted by covering the CT by ceramic fibers and then by submerging CT in water of voided PTs. In both the experiments, it is observed that ballooning initiates at a temperature around 665´┐¢C and complete contact between PT and Caldaria Tube (CT) occurs at around 700´┐¢C approximately. The strain rate is found to be 0.116% per second. The structural integrity of PT is retained (no breach) for all the experiments. The PT heatup is found to be arrested after the contact between PT and CT, thus establishing moderator acting as an efficient heat sink for IPHWRs.

Keywords: Pressure Tube, Calandria Tube, Thermo-mechanicaldeformation, Boiling heat transfer, Reactor safety

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1333254

Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2155

References:


[1] S. K. Gupta, B. K. Dutta, V. Venkatraj, A. Kakodkar, "A study of Indian PHWR reactor channel under prolonged deteriorated flow conditions", in Proc. IAEA TCM on advances in heavy water reactor, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, India, 1996, pp. 1-20.
[2] P. D. Thomption, E. Kohn, "Fuel and fuel channel behavior in accident without the availability of the emergency coolant injection system", Specialist meeting on water reactor fuel safety and fission product release in off Normal Reactor Accidents, IWGFPT/16 (May 1983).
[3] K. E. Locke, J. C. Luxat, A. P. Majumdar, C. B. So, R. G. Moyer, D. G. Litke, "Progress on SMARTT simulation of pressure tube circumferential temperature distribution experiments test 1 to 4", in Proc. CNS 8th Annual Conference, Saint John, June 16 - 17, 1987.
[4] C. B. So, G. E. Gillespie, R. G. Moyer, D. G. Litke, "The experimental determination of circumferential temperature distributions developed in pressure tube during slow coolant boildown", in Proc. CNS 8th Annual Conference, Saint John, 1987, pp. 241-248.
[5] P. S. Yuen, C. B. So, R. G. Moyer, D. G. Litke, "The experimental measurement of circumferential temperature distributions developed on pressure tubes under stratified two-phase of conditions", in Proc. CNS 9th Annual Conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1988, pp. 120-126.
[6] P. S. Yuen, K. A. Haugen, D. G. Litke, R. G. Moyer, H. E. Rosinger, The experimental measurements of circumferential temperature distributions developed on pressure tubes under stratified two-phase flow conditions: Tests 1 to 5, in Proc. CNS 10th Annual Conference, AECL, Pinawa, 1989, pp. 9-18.
[7] G. E. Gillespie, An experimental investigation of heat transfer from a reactor fuel channel to surrounding water, in Proc. CNS 2nd Annual Conference, Ottawa, Toronto, 1981, pp. 157-163.
[8] R. S. W. Shewfelt, L. W. Layall, D. P. Godin, "High temperature creep model for Zr-2.5 wt % Nb pressure tubes", Journal of Nuclear materials vol. 125, pp. 228-235, 1984.
[9] Gopal Nandan, P. K. Sahoo, Ravi Kumar, B Chatterjee, D. Mukhopadhyay, H. G. Lele, "Experimental investigation of heat transfer during LOCA with failure of emergency cooling system", in Proc. 5th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics (HEFAT2007), Sun City, South Africa,1 - 4 July 2007